Perhaps I am not My Own

"To be all things to all men that I may save some;" it is by far St. Paul's most disappointing verse in my mind because it has been the mantra of countless seeker-sensitive churches. I much preferred the unequivocal, "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself would not lose the prize." But these two very Pauline verses are more alike than they appear at first glance for both speak of St. Paul's legendary commitment to preaching the gospel. What results is that he is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure the promulgation of the gospel even if that means beating his body into submission.

So many have read that verse and assumed that it meant abstaining from carnal desires such as sexual cravings and laziness and no doubt that is part of its meaning. However, I see a deeper connection between the two verses, one that further illumines the extent to which one needs to have mastery over the body.

What if by beating his body into submission, Paul was able to be all things to all men. He was a Pharisee and a learned man, yet he preached to the Gentiles. Paul must have been way out of his comfort zone to go where most apostles hesitated to tread at first. Perhaps beating his body meant giving up his preferred method of communicating and understanding God. If so, then in my zealous study of all things Pauline, I missed one of the central message of his ministry. It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me--I am not my own.